I am starting to think that whole cone hops are smoother, and not as harsh as pellets.
Could this be so ?
Not in my experience. And knowing how good pellets are made, there shouldn’t be.
There is still much debate on this topic. Depends who you ask. I haven’t done a side by side tasting experiment to come to any firm conclusions, but I would suggest that anyone interested should do so. I hypothesize that pellets might be superior to whole hops. But that’s just a guess; I don’t really know for sure.
Have fun figuring it out. 
And its also very dependdent on who makes the pellets and how they’re made. Not all pellets are equal. I have found pellets superior to whole hops for many reasons, but I know how the pellets I get are made.
That could be because, typically, you get about 10% better utilization out of pellets. Even if what you suspect is true, the advantages of using pellets still outweigh any negatives. A negative like being slightly harsher can easily be remedied.
Thanks
Once I went to stainless mesh canisters for pellet hops, it changed my preference to pellets. I’m not terribly concerned with how the hops are pelletized, as long as the results are good. My LHBS sells Yakima Chief, mostly, so maybe I’ve just been lucky with what I’ve bought from it…
We are thrilled that many of you like pellets! That means less competition in obtaining our preferred hops, whole cone.
Yeah, there will be lots of inferior product left for you! 
Of course that puts you in the same dilemma as dry yeast users: way less variety.
That’s a sacrifice we will gladly make. Don’t like pellets. But, that’s a personal problem.
Read this if you want to learn why we always choose whole cone - exBEERiment | Dry Hopping: Whole Cone vs. Pellet Hops In An American IPA | Brülosophy
In my experience, dry hopping was the place where I could tell the difference between pellets and whole hops. Specifically, getting really bad oxidation problems using whole hops to dry hop American IPAs. I like whole hops when they’re fresh otherwise, but for European varieties that seems to be rare.
I like using whole cone hops, the work well in my system. They have gotten harder to find. I use more pellets now. They both work.
Yes, for sure, they both work. Each has its advantages and disadvantages.
Everyone’s experience will vary depending on personal preference.
Brulosophy did a side by side comparison of pellet vs whole cone hops. Out of 21 tasters in a triangle test 12 of them were able to pick out the unique sample. They then took those 12 and asked them to take a preference survey. Three said they prefer the sample made with whole cone hops. and three said they preferred the one made with pellet hops. The remaining 6 had no preference.
After all of that however they author had this to say in his conclusions:
One unavoidable caveat to this xBmt is that, despite the hops being of the same variety and crop year, as well as from the same source, there’s no way to be certain they came from the same farm or processor. As such, it’s impossible to say with confidence that the differences perceived by tasters in this xBmt were due only to the form the hops were in, as it could be a function of something like growing conditions, processing, etc.
Thanks, good to know
Hop tea to the right looks like it was made out of sticks and dirt ;D
Cool! Going to share this with my brewing partners so they can appreciate why we use whole leaf hops. A picture is worth 10,000 words!
Any hops particles from pellets won’t make it out of the fermenter, let alone stay in suspension after chilling. But they do help with utilization.
THIS^^^^^ what was the test above trying to show?